Cocaine woman on Police wanted list
Jun 07, 2010
THE Ugandan woman who was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya with narcotics worth sh2.2b (Ksh85m) was on Uganda’s list of most wanted people, the Police have said.
By Patrick Jaramogi
THE Ugandan woman who was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya with narcotics worth sh2.2b (Ksh85m) was on Uganda’s list of most wanted people, the Police have said.
Anne Birungi Bisaso was allegedly nabbed carrying cocaine in bags bearing UN logos dubbed “diplomat bagsâ€.
The narcotic drugs, weighing 21kg, were wrapped in 10 packets and packed in two plastic boxes bearing UN logos.
But in a new twist, the Uganda Police have said Anne Birungi Bisaso’s real name is Gillian Kiconco.
According to the chief of the joint security operations at Entebbe International Airport, Herman Owomugisha, Kiconco alias Birungi has for long been on the wanted list of drug dealers.
“I was shocked to see the person I have been looking for, arrested for similar offences in a foreign country, but with other names,†said Owomugisha.
He was addressing the press at the Central Police Station in Kampala yesterday.
Owomugisha said Kiconco, who hails from Kabale district, is a businesswoman.
“I have personally kept her passport since we arrested her at Entebbe airport in 2007. I thought that by retaining her passport, she would be denied access abroad, but I am shocked,†he disclosed.
Owomugisha said Kiconco was arrested at Entebbe when she went to receive her sister who was returning from China.
“Airport security became suspicious when we found the sister with over $30,000 (sh600m). When we interrogated her, she confessed that she had jus taken drugs to China. She also said her sister (Kiconco) is part of the racket,†he explained.
Owomugisha said Uganda’s weak laws jeopardised their efforts to fight drugs.
“It is unfortunate that the Police’s efforts are frustrated by some few people. Somebody will have to explain how Kiconco got another passport under the name Anne Birungi Bisaso,†he warned.
According to the Kenyan police, Bisaso had flown from Lima in Peru, to Brazil, then South Africa, arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta airport aboard South African Airlines.
Detectives said she had planned to travel to Uganda by road via the Busia border point.
In Nairobi, Bisaso was yesterday charged with trafficking cocaine. She denied the charges before Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka and was detained at Langata Women’s remand home.
The prosecutor, Francis Ndiema, objected to Bisaso’s bail application.
Additional reporting by Reuben Olita in Nairobi
THE Ugandan woman who was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya with narcotics worth sh2.2b (Ksh85m) was on Uganda’s list of most wanted people, the Police have said.
Anne Birungi Bisaso was allegedly nabbed carrying cocaine in bags bearing UN logos dubbed “diplomat bagsâ€.
The narcotic drugs, weighing 21kg, were wrapped in 10 packets and packed in two plastic boxes bearing UN logos.
But in a new twist, the Uganda Police have said Anne Birungi Bisaso’s real name is Gillian Kiconco.
According to the chief of the joint security operations at Entebbe International Airport, Herman Owomugisha, Kiconco alias Birungi has for long been on the wanted list of drug dealers.
“I was shocked to see the person I have been looking for, arrested for similar offences in a foreign country, but with other names,†said Owomugisha.
He was addressing the press at the Central Police Station in Kampala yesterday.
Owomugisha said Kiconco, who hails from Kabale district, is a businesswoman.
“I have personally kept her passport since we arrested her at Entebbe airport in 2007. I thought that by retaining her passport, she would be denied access abroad, but I am shocked,†he disclosed.
Owomugisha said Kiconco was arrested at Entebbe when she went to receive her sister who was returning from China.
“Airport security became suspicious when we found the sister with over $30,000 (sh600m). When we interrogated her, she confessed that she had jus taken drugs to China. She also said her sister (Kiconco) is part of the racket,†he explained.
Owomugisha said Uganda’s weak laws jeopardised their efforts to fight drugs.
“It is unfortunate that the Police’s efforts are frustrated by some few people. Somebody will have to explain how Kiconco got another passport under the name Anne Birungi Bisaso,†he warned.
According to the Kenyan police, Bisaso had flown from Lima in Peru, to Brazil, then South Africa, arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta airport aboard South African Airlines.
Detectives said she had planned to travel to Uganda by road via the Busia border point.
In Nairobi, Bisaso was yesterday charged with trafficking cocaine. She denied the charges before Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka and was detained at Langata Women’s remand home.
The prosecutor, Francis Ndiema, objected to Bisaso’s bail application.
Additional reporting by Reuben Olita in Nairobi